The International Forum of Fire Research Directors: A Position Paper on Evaluation of Structural Fire Resistance

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Author(s)

William L. Grosshandler

Abstract

The structural integrity of a building, and the safety of building occupants and first responders in an actual fire, will depend upon the quality of the structural design, the design of the active and passive fire protection and egress systems, and the procedures governing their installation, inspection, and maintenance. This paper focuses on the ability of test methods to assess building integrity under anticipated and extreme fire conditions, and the need to evaluate the impact of faulty installation and/or maintenance procedures on system performance. The concern, in the short term, is with improving current prescriptive test methods through international standards-making organizations. In the long term, sustained research is required to support the development of science-based performance codes.